Starmer should resign if he ‘can’t do the job’, says Badenoch

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Keir Starmer is “blowing around like a plastic bag in the wind” and should resign if he “can’t do the job”.

She added that Labour MPs “should speak to my whips” if they are ready to hold a confidence vote in the Prime Minister.

Ms Badenoch made the comments on a visit to Godalming, Surrey on Monday – in which she was accompanied by Godalming and Ash MP Sir Jeremy Hunt and shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith.

Speaking at a pub in the market town shortly after the resignation of Downing Street communications chief Tim Allan, she told the Press Association: “It’s quite clear that Keir Starmer does not have a grip on his Government.

“He is in office, but not in power, and our country is not being governed.

“What I’m seeing is a Government that is completely adrift. The Prime Minister is blowing around like a plastic bag in the wind. If he can’t do the job, then yes, he should go.”

Last week, Ms Badenoch made a direct offer to Labour MPs to join her party in seeking a no confidence vote against the Prime Minister.

Asked on Monday if Labour MPs should hold a vote of no confidence in Sir Keir, Ms Badenoch said: “I have said that if they are ready to have a confidence vote, they should speak to my whips.

“A few Labour MPs have given some indications – I can’t say who and exactly when – but right now, what the country needs is stability and certainty.”

Ms Badenoch visited an estate agent and a coffee shop during her visit to Godalming, telling reporters that the country was living in a “Labour psychodrama”.

She added: “The Prime Minister is the architect of his own misfortunes, and all of the chaos and instability we’re seeing is completely self-inflicted.”